Monday, January 30, 2017

Mailbox Monday: Three by Amanda Cross

What books came into your house last week?

I indulged my completist urge and bought the three Kate Fansler mysteries I didn't have, so now I have the complete series by Amanda Cross. I've only read the first two, but I like knowing the rest are there for me, waiting in order. The entire series belongs on my list of Campus Novels.



No Word from Winifred (#8, 1986)



An Imperfect Spy (#11, 1995)



The Puzzled Heart (#12, 1998)



Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday, a weekly "show & tell" blog event where participants share the books they acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is graciously hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.




Thursday, January 26, 2017

Book Beginning: Friday the Rabbi Slept Late



THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING



They sat in the chapel and waited. They were still only nine, and they were waiting for the tenth so that they could begin morning prayers.

Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman, the first of the Rabbi Small mystery series. Published in 1965, it counts as one of my Silver level books for the Vintage Mystery Challenge this year.



Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Author Interview: M. Louis



M. Louis is the author of a new mystery series featuring Portland private eye Jake Brand. The series started with a Twitter exercise that lead to the first published book, Angel's Devil, followed by the second book, Secondhand Smoke.


M. Louis recently answered questions for Rose City Reader:

How did you come to write Secondhand Smoke

A friend suggested that my CPA firm would benefit through social media engagement, so I tried Twitter. After a few weeks I decided it wasn’t for me. In fact, I decided I could gain a larger following tweeting nonsense rather then tax law. So I decided to tweet a novel. I chose the concept of Jake Brand and after a week I found myself trapped in the plot. I decided I needed to be more formal with process in order to extend the story in a logical fashion. I started thinking about process and decided that if I was going to go the extreme of structure I might as well write a novel.

Secondhand Smoke is the second book in a series. When you wrote your first Jake Brand book, Angel’s Devil, did you have a series in mind? 

Actually, Secondhand Smoke was the first book I wrote. Angels Devil, while published first, was the second book I wrote. My thought at the time was that AD would be a shorter book that could be a giveaway promotion. AD ended up being close to a full novel simply because I was having fun with the story.

My original goal was to complete a novel. When completed, my goal became publishing the book. Then my goal was to sell at least one copy. I didn't think of a series until the rough draft of SS was close to complete. This decision influenced the ending of SS.

What is your professional background? How did it lead you to writing your Jake Brand series? 

I'm a CPA and own a public accounting company. I do a fair amount of writing and communicating on complex topics with a goal of simplifying and supporting my opinion in a clear ordered manner. There is a fair amount of creative thinking in my business, and constant communication with varied people. I think there's a discipline that helps with writing.

What do you admire most about Jake Brand? What is his least endearing trait?

I think Jake is humble and empathetic, most of the time. He's smart, strong, skilled but dosen't assume that the person confronting him isn't similarly smart strong and skilled. A little self doubt is a good way to be safe.

Jake makes bad decisions in his romantic life. He likes women who aren't good for him and is struggling to even define what he's looking for in a love interest.

Did you know right away, or have an idea, how you were going to end the story in Secondhand Smoke? Or did it come to you as you were in the process of writing? 

I had no idea where the story was going. As much as I thought I wanted formal structure, the draft became the vehicle for that structure. After a few weeks the story started to write itself. At night I'd dream a chapter that I'd write down in the morning. I knew I wanted him to struggle with romance and I wanted there to be mystery and tension in his personal life not just his professional.

What did you learn from writing Secondhand Smoke – either about the subject of the book or the writing process – that most surprised you?

I think the greatest lesson for me was identifying when my humor is inappropriate. It's okay to be inappropriate, to a degree, if it advances a character or a plot line, but not as a stand alone cheap moment.

I also learned that a well presented end product is dependent on a talented team. From editor to social media, the process is best completed with talented engaged professionals along the way.

Who are your three (or four or five) favorite authors? Is your own writing influenced by the books you read?

James Clavell, Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Colleen McCollough, Dr. Seuss, Robert Louis Stevenson, Wilbur Smith, Patrick O'Brien, James Fenimore Cooper: These are the artists who have inspired my love of books. They transport me. Their prose is so finely crafted that its seamless.

The genesis of Jake Brand though is old detective tv shows like Moonlighting, The Rockford Files, and Magnum PI.

Do you have favorite mystery series you love to read? Which ones?

This is an interesting question because to me every book is a mystery. The mystery may be guessing where the author is headed or why, but there's always engagement in what's going to happen next. My very first experience with a mystery series was the Nancy Drew series. My grandma had a beach house in Arch Cape and I'd stay up late with a flashlight reading. In the dark, at the coast, sleeping in a musty, cold attic, with stormy weather outside, was an amazing back drop to the books.

Were books an important part of your household when you were growing up? 

Books were huge. They allowed me to escape mentally during tough times and inspired my curiosity.

What are you reading now?

I am reading John LeCarre who wrote several best selling spy novels that have been converted into movies and tv. His style is dramatically different then mine. He spends massive amounts of time developing the mental state of his characters. In the end it works brilliantly.

What do you do to promote your books? Do you use social networking sites or other internet resources? 

I'm on TwitterInstagram, and my website so I use tweets, pictures, videos -- lots of social media. I try to create a human side to M. Louis and not focus just on selling. I've given books away to local charities. I private labeled wine - Angel's Devil, big boys don't cry, but they do wine. And obtaining reviews and interviews.

Do you have any events coming up to promote your book?

We released the audio versions of both books this year. No other events scheduled

What is the most valuable advice you’ve been given as an author?

You have to love the process because you are probably going to struggle to make money at writing. The competition is fierce, the delivery systems keep most of the money, and ultimately, making money has as much or more to do with marketing as it does quality.

What is the best thing about being a writer?

I love it when a reader reacts to what I've written. For example, everyone seems to have an opinion on where Jake’s love life should go. And they can be quite adamant in their feelings.

I also love it when I write something really good. And I think there are at least pieces where I've surprised myself with what I think is very high quality.

And I love the challenge of doing it better.

What does a typical writing day look like for you?

I try to write everyday for 30 to 60 minutes.

Keeping it short allows me to data dump what I've been thinking about.

Doing it everyday keeps me engaged in the story.

What’s next? Are you working on your next Jake Brand book?

I am working on book three. The rough draft is about 80% done. It will be different. The first two books are 100% first person Jake. Book three will present from multiple perspectives.

Writing a book is like baking a cake. It takes time, patience and the right combination of ingredients. And no cake works without butter. In a book, the butter is the writer's essence. Without pieces of the writer blended into the thoughts and feelings of the characters, the story will be flat and one dimensional. Too much and it will be self indulgent.

It can be unnerving to put yourself out there for the world to read, judge and critique. But if done correctly, the pieces that are you, blend with the pieces that are your imagination, making a tasty desert.

THANKS, M. LOUIS!

ANGEL'S DEVIL AND SECONDHAND SMOKE ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE OR ASK YOUR LOCAL BOOKSELLER TO ORDER THEM! 



Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Teaser Tuesday: Tales of a Half-Assed Hussy


I didn't want to tell anyone that I knew that we would be building this house for a family in another country. It felt very White Girl Saving The World.

-- Licking Flames: Tales of a Half-Assed Hussy by Diana Kirk is a strikingly funny and authentic collection of essays about her take on life. 

Curious? Read my interview with Diana Kirk here.  


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by The Purple Booker, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Mailbox Monday

What books came into your house last week? I got a couple of interesting books:



On the Ragged Edge of Medicine: Doctoring Among the Dispossessed by Patricia Kullberg, published by OSU Press. This powerful collection of 15 patient vignettes was written by a doctor who worked on the urban front line, with the homeless and city poor.



Kinship of Clover by Ellen Meeropol, published by Red Hen Press. I'm not sure what to make of this one yet. The publisher's description starts: "He was nine when the vines first wrapped themselves around him and burrowed into his skin. Now a college botany major, Jeremy is desperately looking for a way to listen to the plants and stave off their extinction." Wow. How's that for creative?



Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday, a weekly "show & tell" blog event where participants share the books they acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is graciously hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.




Sunday, January 22, 2017

2017 Challenge: The Vintage Mystery Challenge


The Vintage Mystery Challenge, hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block, is always one of my favorites. I've gone back and forth between the Golden Age and Silver Age versions and this year am going to TRY to do both.

Golden Age counts as mysteries published before 1960. Silver Age counts as mysteries published from 1960 through 1989.

The Scavenger Hunt involves finding as many items on the lists below in the covers of the books read. You can only count one item per book cover.

You complete the challenge by "finding" six items on the list, at which point you are entered in Bev's drawing for a prize (if you complete your wrap up post). If you find 12 items on the list, you get entered in a second drawing for a second prize. Bev will also award a Grand Prize for the person who finds the most items.



BOOKS FINISHED

None yet!


Thursday, January 19, 2017

Book Beginning: Walking with Plato



THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING



There's no set route for the End to End. You can do it entirely along roads or you can navigate your way through forest, field, and mountain.

Walking with Plato by Gary Hayden, published by Oneworld Publications.

Author Gary Hayden set off on the 1,150-mile trek from John o’Groats to Land’s End with no intention of writing a book about it. Luckily for us, he changed his mind.

Read my Rose City Reader interview of Gary Hayden here.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

2016 Challenge: European Reading Challenge - Wrap Up


COMPLETED

This is my warp up post for the 2016 European Reading Challenge, which officially ends January 31, 2017.

To post your wrap up post for the 2016 challenge, go to this page.

To sign up for the 2017 European Reading Challenge, go to this page.

MY BOOKS

I signed up for the Jet Setter level to read books set in, or written by authors from, five different European countries. I ended up reading 10 qualifying books. As usual, I read many more books set in European countries or written by European authors, but they were the same European countries -- mostly the UK.

My book reviewing has slacked off significantly because I'm so busy in my law practice these days. I am happy if I have time to read books! If I have any extra time, I try to get a few blog posts put up.

UNITED KINGDOM: A Little Dinner Before the Play by Agnes Jekyll (reviewed here)

DENMARK: Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen

MALTA: Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess

NORWAY: Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo

RUSSIA: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

SWITZERLAND: The Complete Short Stories, Vol. I, East and West by W. Somerset Maugham

ITALY: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

HUNGARY: Paris: A Love Story by Kati Marton

GREECE: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Bailey's Prize winner)

FRANCE: Missing Person by Patrick Modiano (Nobel laureate)






Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Teaser Tuesday: Through a Green Lens



Barriers between people and nature seem to be of five basic kinds: distance, physical disability, poverty, lack of time, and attitude. Let's look at each of these, to see how high the walls really are, and how they might best be overcome.

-- Through a Green Lens: Fifty Years of Writing for Nature by Robert Michael Pyle, published by OSU Press. This collection of Pyle's "greatest hits" is a terrific introduction (or refresher) to a gifted writer and world-class naturalist.



Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by The Purple Booker, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.



Monday, January 16, 2017

Mailbox Monday: The One-Cent Magenta

What books came into your house last week? One non-fiction book caught my eye.



The One-Cent Magenta: Inside the Quest to Own the Most Valuable Stamp in the World by James Barron. I asked for this early review copy from LibraryThing because it sounded interesting to me and I want to pass it on to my husband, who is quite the philatelist:





Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday, a weekly "show & tell" blog event where participants share the books they acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is graciously hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.




Saturday, January 14, 2017

2017 Challenge: The Crooked House Challenge


DID NOT COMPLETE

Inspirational blogger and book fan Hannah Braime encourages people to read by hosting a 26-book and 52-book reading challenge every year. Her challenges don't have a particular theme, but each book fits a particular category or requirement -- like a scavenger hunt.

My friend Rachelle, who owns the delightful Crooked House Books here in Portland (and on-line) organized a group of people to undertake the 26-book version of Hannah's challenge. That's why I call this my Crooked House Challenge. She created a Facebook page for the group, for anyone interested in playing along, so feel free to join in.

The rules are simple. To complete the challenge, you have to read 26 different books. Each has to be completed in 2017. One book cannot be applied to more than one category, but books can overlap with other challenges. We are just trying to read 26 books in 2017, not necessarily one book every two weeks, although that is what it will average out to be.

  • A book you read in school
  • A book from your childhood
  • A book published more than 100 years ago
  • A book published in the last year
  • A nonfiction book
  • A book by a male author
  • A book by a female author
  • A book by someone who isn’t a writer 
  • A book that became a film
  • A book written in the 20th century
  • A book set in your hometown/region
  • A book with someone’s name in the title
  • A book with a number in the title
  • A book with a character with your first name*
  • A book recommended to you by someone else
  • A book with more than 500 pages
  • A book you can finish in a day
  • A book previously banned
  • A book with a one word title
  • A book translated from another language
  • A book to improve a certain area of your life
  • A memoir or journal
  • A book written by someone younger than you
  • A book set somewhere you’ll be visiting this year
  • An award winner
  • A self-published book

* Our group agreed to change this one a little because there are several people, including me, who have unusual first names. I could spend a lifetime looking for a book with a Gilion in it (pronounced with a hard G by the way, so it's not a funny spelling of Gillian). We agreed to change this one to a book with a character with your first or last name, or a book written by someone with your first or last name. I think I can find a book written by an author named Dumas.

THE BOOK I'VE READ



  • Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (read in school)



  • Slay Ride by Dick Francis (from childhood)



  • The Little Nugget by P. G. Wodehouse (more than 100 years ago)



  • The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living by Meik Wiking (published in the last year)



  • The Whole Fromage: Adventures in the Delectable World of French Cheese by Kathe Lison (nonfiction)



  • The Biographer's Moustache by Kingsley Amis (male author)



  • A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie (female author)



  • Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance (by someone not a writer)



  • We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (became a film)



  • No Way to Treat a First Lady by Christopher Buckley (20th Century)



  • The Nix by Nathan Hill (set in hometown or region)



  • Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacs (name in title)



  • Remembrance of Things Paris: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet, edited by Ruth Reichl (number in title)



  • The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (recommended by someone)



  • Any Human Heart by William Boyd (more than 500 pages)


  • Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert (finish in a day)



  • Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (one-word title)



  • Death by Water by Kenzaburo Oe (translated)



  • The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck: How to Stop Spending Time You Don't Have with People You Don't Like Doing Things You Don't Want to Do by Sarah Knight (change area of your life)



  • Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl (memoir) 



  • In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware (younger author)


  • Any Woman's Blues by Erica Jong (area visited)



  • The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flannigan (prize winner)



  • Jam Today Too: The Revolution Will Not Be Catered by Tod Davies (self-published)




  • NOTES:

    Updated January 1, 2018. The only two I didn't get to were a book with my name in it and a banned book. I just couldn't figure out if any of the books I read had ever been banned. I suspect the Erica Jong book was banned somewhere! And maybe some other books I read. But I've already read all the "classics" that show up on lists of banned books.



    Friday, January 13, 2017

    2016 Books


    I read 108 books in 2016, which surprised me because I was crazy busy at work last year, including moving our office, which added turmoil. Here is the list, in the order I read them.

    Take the stars with a big grain of salt. Five stars go only to a very few all-time favorites. Four stars go to books I think are really good or would recommend to anyone. I rate a book a 3 if I liked it personally, but wouldn't think of recommending it. Most books get 3.5, which means that I liked it and would recommend it to people who like that genre or type of book. See this post for details.

    An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin (4/5)

    More Baths Less Talking: Notes from the Reading Life of a Celebrated Author Locked in Battle with Football, Family, and Time Itself by Nick Hornby (3.5/5)

    Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz (4/5)

    Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi (3/5)

    Mike by P. G. Wodehouse (3/5)

    A New Lease of Death by Ruth Rendell (3.5/5)

    A Little Dinner Before the Play by Agnes Jekyll (reviewed here; 3.5/5)

    Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (3.5/5)

    The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (3.5/5)

    The Big Seven by Jim Harrison (3.5/5)

    The Fur Person by Mary Sarton (3/5)

    Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess (4/5)

    Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson (4/5)

    Kate Vaiden by Reynolds Price (2.5/5)

    Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo (3.5/5)

    Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (3/5)

    I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections by Nora Ephron (3.5/5)

    Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (4/5)

    Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark (4/5)

    Here Kitty Kitty by Mallory McInnis (3/5)

    Fallen into the Pit by Peter Ellis (3.5/5)

    The Complete Short Stories, Vol. I, East and West by W. Somerset Maugham (5/5)

    The Bell by Iris Murdoch (4/5)

    My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (3.5/5)

    The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (Booker Prize winner; 3.5/5)

    The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (3.5/5)

    Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour by Lynne Olson (3.5/5)

    Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George (3.5/5)

    A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny (3.5/5)

    Bech is Back by John Updike (4/5)

    Wild Horses by Dick Francis (3.5/5)

    Merry Hall by Beverley Nichols (4/5)

    Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (4.5/5)

    The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope (4.5/5)

    Morte D'Urban by J. F. Powers (National Book Award winner; 3.5/5)

    Family Album by Penelope Lively (3.5/5)

    The British Museum is Falling Down by David Lodge (3.5/5)

    The Water's Lovely by Ruth Rendell (3.5/5)

    Ape and Essence by Aldous Huxley (3/5)

    Miles Gone By by William F. Buckley, Jr. (4/5)

    Death and the Joyful Woman by Ellis Peters (3.5/5)

    In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume (3/5)

    Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck (3/5)

    Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor (2/5)

    Queen Lucia by E. F. Benson (4/5)

    Belgravia by Julian Fellowes (3.5/5)

    The Last Dead Girl by Harry Dolan (3.5/5)

    Afternoon Men by Anthony Powell (3.5/5)

    Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk (4/5)

    The River Swimmer by Jim Harrison (3.5/5)

    Paris: A Love Story by Kati Marton (3/5)

    A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read (3.5/5)

    Devices and Desires by P. D. James (4/5)

    Funny Girl by Nick Hornby (4/5)

    The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina (3.5/5)

    Orlando by Virginia Woolf (2.5/5)

    The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Bailey's Prize winner; 3/5)

    Ten North Frederick by John O'Hara (National Book Award winner; 3.5/5)

    The Old Men at the Zoo by Angus Wilson (Anthony Burgess' Top 99; 4.5/5)

    A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson (4/5)

    Winter and Night by S. J. Rozan, (Edgar Award winner; 3.5/5)

    You & Me by Padgett Powell (James Tait Black Prize winner; 3.5/5)

    Missing Justice by Alafair Burke (3/5)

    Shaken and Stirred: Through the Martini Glass and Other Drinking Adventures by William L. Hamilton (3/5)

    Think Like a Lawyer Don't Act Like One: The Essential Rules for the Smart Negotiator by Aernoud Bourdrez (3/5)

    A Brief History of Seven Killings by James Marlon (Booker Prize winner; 2/5)

    Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan (5/5)

    The Known World by Edward P. Jones (Pulitzer Prize winner; National Book Critics Circle Award winner; 3/5)

    We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler (3.5/5)

    One Day My Soul Just Opened Up by Iyanla Vanzant (3.5/5)

    The King's English : A Guide to Modern Usage by Kingsley Amis (4/5)

    Mr. White's Confession by Robert Clark (Edgar Award winner; 3.5/5)

    Missing Person by Patrick Modiano (Nobel laureate; 3/5)

    Bettyville by George Hodgman (3/5)

    Don't Point That Thing at Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli (3.5/5)

    Psmith in the City by P. G. Wodehouse (3/5)

    Excellent Women by Barbara Pym (3.5/5)

    The Company She Keeps by Mary McCarthy (4/5)

    Nobody Move by Denis Johnson (3/5)

    A Flag for Sunrise by Robert Stone (BOMC's Well Stocked Bookcase; 2.5/5)

    Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers by Tom Wolfe (5/5)

    The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald (3.5/5)

    Laughter on the Stairs by Beverley Nichols (3.5/5)

    Sunlight on the Lawn by Beverley Nichols (3.5/5)

    After You with the Pistol by Kyril Bonfiglioli (3.5/5)

    Something Nasty in the Woodshed by Kyril Bonfiglioli (3/5)

    Miss Mapp by E. F. Benson (3.5/5)

    The Everlasting Man by G. K. Chesterton (4/5)

    Be Cool by Elmore Leonard (3.5/5)

    A Writer's People by V. S. Naipaul (3/5)

    Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice by Bill Browder (3.5/5)

    All the Little Live Things by Wallace Stegner (3.5/5)

    The Light and the Dark by C. P. Snow (3/5)

    Billingsgate Shoal by Rick Boyer (Edgar Award winner; 3.5/5)

    Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh (3.5/5)

    Nutshell by Ian McEwan (4/5)

    Secondhand Smoke by M. Louis (3.5/5)

    A Murder of Magpies by Judith Flanders (3/5)

    Library of Luminaries: Coco Chanel by Zena Alkayat (3.5/5)

    Lucia in London by E. F. Benson (3.5/5)

    The Invisible Girls by Sarah Thebarge (3/5)

    A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (5/5)

    Glamorous Powers by Susan Howatch (3.5/5)

    The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (3.5/5)

    Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris (3/5)

    The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford (4/5)

    Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer-Fleming (3.5/5)

    Never Flirt with Puppy Killers: And Other Better Book Titles by Dan Wilbur (3.5/5)




    Thursday, January 12, 2017

    Book Beginning: Through a Green Lens



    THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

    Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

    EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

    FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

    TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

    TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

    YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



    MY BOOK BEGINNING



    As a kid in the Aurora public schools, it was clear that any small gift I might possess was verbal rather than mathematical.

    -- from the author's Introduction, "Dancing with Pan," to Through a Green Lens: Fifty Years of Writing for Nature by Robert Michael Pyle, published by OSU Press.

    The entirety of conservation is uniquely and deeply intertwined with natural history.

    -- from "Conservation and Natural History," first published in Northwest Conifer (1968).

    Pyle is a trained biologist and ecology PhD who turned his talent and enthusiasm to nature writing half a century ago. He has written 20 books and hundred of essays, as well as fiction and poetry. This collection offers a sampling of his essays spanning the fifty years of his writing career.

    Tuesday, January 10, 2017

    Teaser Tuesday: Where the Wind Dreams of Staying



    In the desert, the sun swaggers like a bully. Even in April the southern Nevada sky is barely big enough to hold all the light.

    -- Where the Wind Dreams of Staying: Searching for Purpose and Place in the West by Eric Dieterle, a new memoir published by OSU Press.

    The memoir is more a collection of essays than a linear autobiography, which I am happy with because I find the pot luck approach more interesting. This teaser is from an essay called "Virgin Territory."



    Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by The Purple Booker, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

    Thursday, January 5, 2017

    Book Beginning: Where the Wind Dreams of Staying


    HAPPY NEW YEAR!

    THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

    Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

    EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

    FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

    TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

    TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

    YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



    MY BOOK BEGINNING



    Stacked bags of rock salt loomed high in a dim, cavernous room, where the stale smell of diesel exhaust from hulking delivery trucks lingered long after they were parked for the day.

    -- Where the Wind Dreams of Staying: Searching for Purpose and Place in the West by Eric Dieterle, published by OSU Press. This new memoir is as much a tribute to the inland West as the story of the man shaped by his western environment.

    Tuesday, January 3, 2017

    Teaser Tuesday: The Panther



    The tribal lands, also known to the Americans there as the Badlands, or Indian Territory, were basically lawless. Also known as dangerous.

    -- The Panther by Nelson DeMille. I like to start off the year with a big chunkster of a book and this one counts, at over 600 pages. But it's Nelson DeMille, so it's also lightning fast and a nail-biter.



    Teaser Tuesdays is now hosted by The Purple Booker, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

    Monday, January 2, 2017

    Mailbox Monday: Happy New Year!

    Did you get any good books for Christmas? Santa brought me three books that look very entertaining:



    A Torch Kept Lit: Great Lives of the Twentieth Century by William F. Buckley Jr. (Author), James Rosen (Editor). Eulogies of more than 50 famous people.



    The Portlandia Cookbook: Cook Like a Local by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. A must for every Portlander with any interest in food.



    Never Flirt with Puppy Killers: And Other Better Book Titles by Dan Wilbur. Some of these had me howling.



    Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday, a weekly "show & tell" blog event where participants share the books they acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

    Mailbox Monday is graciously hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.




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